It seems that Scotland's crown is slipping when it comes to producing the best single malt whisky. Last year saw the Japanese, Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry Cask 2013, take the top title - now the Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Cask Strength, a Taiwanese single malt, has scooped the highly revered award; leaving the Scots feeling a little sheepish.

The fact is, there has been an extremely high standard of whisky coming from the east as of late, which has lead to a rise in popularity and lot of hype among the whisky community across the globe.

Named after the New Orleans bartender that first used rye whisky in the Sazerac cocktail, the Thomas H Handy Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey is full of rich, deep flavours such as toffee, candied fruit and cinnamon. Uncut and unfiltered, this is straight rye whiskey the way it should be - bottled directly from the barrel.

This years winner of best grain whisky was the Darkness! North British 18 Years Old Oloroso Cask Finish. Spending 3 months in specially made first-fill, 50 litre Oloroso Sherry casks; the result is a complex grain whisky, rich in deep Oloroso Sherry character.

For its second year running the Redbreast Single Pot Still 15 Years Old picked up the best pot still whisky award.

A pot still whisky is an term used within the Irish whiskey industry and is a style of whisky that is made at a single distillery from a mixed mash of malted barley and unmalted green barley in a single pot still - hence the name, pot still whisky.

Redbreast is luxuriously smooth and sweet with notes of cooked fruits, cinnamon, butterscotch and caramel.

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